Department: First Person

Media Player
Why I happily traded 7 million viewers for 20 undergraduates in a classroom. A report from our correspondent on the frontlines.
Fall 2017

Memories of a football weekend, in black and white
Writer Ray Passacantando (Col ’57) looks back on the “total bust” of a weekend in 1953 that centered around the racial divide on Grounds.
Summer 2017

Why UVA Is All They Ever Talk About
Economics Professor Kenneth G. Elzinga reflects on the characteristic of UVA graduates who seem to keep talking about their University experiences even after entering the workplace.
Winter 2016

From Helvetica to a Helluva Ride
How did CBS Executive Producer Mary Hager end up in political media, and why does she have UVA's former football coach to thank for her career path?
Winter 2016

Questions Before Answers
When asked how she comes up with story ideas, author Kim Brooks to points to a lesson learned from one of her UVA professors about asking questions.
Fall 2016

The Hidden Landscape
Vice provost Maurie McInnis (Col ’88) reflects on the University’s complicated racial history and its implications for the present.
Summer 2016

The Pause
A UVA trauma nurse discusses the origins and importance of “The Pause,” a ritual practice that honors both a patient’s life and medical workers’ efforts to save it.
Spring 2016

The Best Investment
Alumnus and current graduate student Brendan Maupin Wynn discusses the importance of offering financial aid to students in need.
Winter 2015

Look Closer
Annie Rorem (Batten ’13) conducts research on education and labor force participation with a particular interest in gender.
Fall 2015

Stories Evil Tells
Professor Alon Confino offers his thoughts on how humans use stories to explain our history and justify our motivations for doing things—the good things and especially the bad ones.
Summer 2015

The Case for Compassionate Policing
UVA law professor Josh Bowers advocates for a shift in the ways police officers see people and people see police officers. We are all human, he says, and entitled to dignified treatment.
Spring 2015

The Roar of the Lioness
Professor Farzaneh Milani shares her thoughts on the work of Iranian poet Simin Behbahani and the power of poetry.
Winter 2014

The Wake of Watergate
Gerry Warburg shares lessons learned from Nixon's registration in 1974, including how voter participation can inspire bipartisan action.
Fall 2014

Withholding Judgment
Religious studies professor John Portmann ponders a difficult question.
Summer 2014


Hollywood Dreams
After graduation, Jon Macht (Col '82) packed everything he owned in his car and headed for Hollywood.
Winter 2013

“The Good Old Song”: Is It Beloved by All?
Is it time to bid farewell to “The Good Old Song”?
Fall 2013


The Quality of Souls
Alumna Audrey Davidow Lapidus writes about how a rare genetic syndrome has shaped her son's life as well as her own.
Spring 2013

Dark Skies, Bright Kids
Professor Kelsey Johnson helps kids reach for the stars, and find their own inner scientist.
Winter 2012

The Dilemma of U.S.-Iran Relations
Iran is my birth land; UVA, my intellectual home for 60 years. Here, I've tried to advance understanding of Iran's foreign policy.
Fall 2012


The Power of a Poet
Spring 2012

A Funeral Procession for the Marquis
An alumna explores La Fayette’s connection to the University
Winter 2011

Witness to Revolution
Jia Tolentino (Col '09), member of the Peace Corps, survives the April 2010 coup in Kyrgystan
Fall 2011